Silverware sorting and polarizing machine

ABSTRACT

A silverware sorting and polarizing machine in which novel means is provided for receiving bunched or disarrayed silverware that has been washed and dried, this means delivering the silverware by gravity to a separating and spacing means that will separate the silverware into individual and spaced apart items and arrange them in parallel relation. Then the machine will move the spaced apart items over a sorting means that will separate the silverware according to length and finally polarizing means will receive the sorted silverware and will act on the individual items to make the handles of each item point in the same direction, the sorted and polarized items finally being delivered into separate receptacles, one for each different kind of item, such as spoons, forks, knives, etc., and where each receptacle will receive only similar items and have the handles of these items all extend in the same direction.

Noren et al.

Sept. 4, 1973 MACHINE Filed:

SILVERWARE SORTING AND POLARIZING Inventors: Tore H. Noren; George J. Federighi,

both of 1350 Donner Ave., San Francisco, Calif. 94124 Aug. 2, 1971 Appl. No.: 167,948

US. Cl. .Q 209/73, 209/74 R, 209/85,

Int. Cl B0711 13/04 Field of Search 209/73, 74, 85, 97;

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS Primary Examiner-Allen N. Knowles Attorney-William R Piper [5 7] ABSTRACT A silverware sorting and polarizing machine in which novel means is provided for receiving bunched or disarrayed silverware that has been washed and dried, this means delivering the silverware by gravity to a separating and spacing means that will separate the silverware into individual and spaced apart items and arrange them in parallel relation. Then the machine will move the spaced apart items over a sorting means that will separate the silverware according to length and finally polarizing means will receive the sorted silverware and will act on the individual items to make the handles of each item point in the same direction, the sorted and polarized items finally being delivered into separate receptacles, one for each different kind of item, such as spoons, forks, knives, etc., and where each receptacle will receive only similar items and have the handles of these items all extend in the same direction.

14 Claims, 19 Drawing Figures PATENTEBSEP 44m SHEET m 8 3756;403

$6 INVENTORS TORE H. NOREN GEORGE J. FEDERIGHI ATTORNEY PATENIEHSEP 41w SHEET 2 [IF 8 INVENTORS TORE H. NOREN BY GEORGE J. FEDERIGH! IA/M 2 -4 flTTORA/EY PATENIED mm 3.756403 SHEET 3 OF 8 SI 52 S3 S4 S5 S6 LJLL UUJLULU 4o NI N2 N3 /39 N4 5 6 Fig 15' INVENTORS TORE H. NOREN GEORGE J. FEDERIGHI ATTORNEY PATENTEDSEP 41m 3.7563103 SHEET 0F 8 I INVENTORS TORE H. NOREN GEORGE J. FEDERIGHI ATTORNEY PATENTEDSEP 4 1m 3.; 7511403 sum 5 or 8 INVENTORS TORE H. NOREN GEORGE J. FEDERI GHI ATTORNEY PATENTEDSEP 4 Im SHEET 7 [1F 8 INVENTORS TORE H. NOREN $EORGE J. FEDERIGHI ATTORNEY miminsir 4 m5 3Q75L403 sum 8 [1F 8 \T INVENTORS TORE H. NOREN BY GEORGE J. FEDERIGHI ATTORNEY SILVERWARE SORTING AND POLARIZING MACHINE BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention It has always been desirable in self-serving restaurants, such as cafeterias, to provide several receptacles for holding silverware and have each receptacle contain only one kind of silverware, such as spoons, forks, knives, etc., and in which all of the handles of the silverware will extend in the same direction. For example, six receptacles could be provided for holding groups of teaspoons, soup spoons, salad forks, dinner forks, longhandled spoons and knives. When the silverware is washed and dried it requires a considerable time for one or more operators to sort and place it in receptacles where each receptacle will hold only one kind of silverware and all of the handles of the silverware will extend in the same direction. It is impossible to keep the silverware in a sanatary condition during the hand sorting operating. We have designed a machine which will automatically accomplish the sorting of the silverware into separate groups where all of the items in a group will be similar to each other and will be received in a common receptacle and where the handles of the items will all extend in the same direction. It is impossible to keep the silverware in a sanitary condition during the hand sorting operation. We have designed a machine which will automatically accomplish the sorting of the silverware into separate groups where all of the items in a group will be similar to each other and will be received in a common receptacle and where the handles of the items will all extend in the same direction.

2. Description of the Prior Art The patent to Stephen T. Braunheim et al., U.S. Pat. No. 3,389,790, is for a utensil sorting apparatus. A rotatable drum is used and has outwardly projecting and longitudinally extending fins that will receive utensils from a hopper. A flexible shield encircles the lower exterior portion of the drum and this shield has a plurality of spaced apart slots that are graduated in length. The lengths of the slots parallel the axis of rotation of the drum. In theory each fin of the rotating drum is designed to pick up one utensil at a time from the hopper and move the utensil past the row of slots. The shortest in leng'thslot is the first one encountered and it will permit only spoons to pass therethrough. Any fin moving a fork'or knife will carry its utensil past the shortest length slot. The next slot is made long enough to permit forks to pass therethrough and the last slot is long enough to permit knives to pass therethrough. A separate inclined chute is associated with each slot for receiving the utensils passing therethrough and each chute has polarizing means for delivering the utensils into either one of two receptacles associated with that chute. If the utensil that is sliding along the chute is moving with its handle leading the way, it will be delivered to one receptacle and if the utensil is moving along the chute trailing its handle, it will be delivered to the other chute.

We have found from practice that the utensils tend to bunch up in the hopper in the above-mentioned patented apparatus and become so disarrayed at times that the drum fins will not pick up any utensil as they pass the hopper or they may pick up more than one of the utensils at a time. In our machine we have provided two endless belts with spaced apart and parallely arranged vanes. The first endless belt and its vanes will separate the bunched silverware delivered to it into individual utensils and arrange these utensils parallel to each other and in spaced apart relation. Then the second endless belt and its vanes will receive one utensil at a time from the first endless belt and will move the utensil past a flexible utensil-sorting partition that will sort the utensils according to their different lengths. These two endless belts will disentangle any bunched silverware delivered to the machine and will space the utensils apart and move then one at a time past the flexible utensil-sorting partition for sorting them according to their different lengths.

Also we have improved the polarizing means of the above-mentioned patent whereby the utensils sliding along any one of the chutes will be delivered with their handles leading the way into a single receptacle associated with that chute. This does away with the necessity of providing two silverware receiving receptacles for each chute as is true in the above-mentioned patent.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION An object of our invention is to provide a silverware sorting and polarizing machine into which bunched and disarrayed silverware may be fed into the entrance chute of the machine rather than it being necessary to feed one item at a time into the entrance chute. The machine will then initially separate and space apart each item of silverware delivered to it and then will sort the items according to their lengths. After this all of the items of a particular length are delivered to a polarizing means which will automatically cause all of the handles of these items to extend in the same direction as they are delivered into a single receptacle. The machine has a separate polarizing means for each of the different lengths of the silverware being handled by the machine and a single receptacle will be associated with each polarizing means.

A further object of our invention is to provide a machine of the type described in which novel means is provided for ejecting any item of silverware into a separate discard receptacle where for some reason this item has not been arranged in proper position to be acted upon by the sorting means that separates the items according to length. Also in the case of extreme emergency where a silverware item becomes jammed in the machine, this jammed piece will strike the discard receptacle and will move it a slight distance to actuate a switch which will open the electric circuitto the motor and stop further operation of the machine until the jammed item is removed.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS FIG. 1 is a front elevation of the machine.

FIG. 2 is a side elevation of the machine when looking from the left hand side of FIG. 1 and in the direction of the arrows along the line 2-2 of FIG. 1.

FIG. 3 is another side elevation of the machine when looking from the right hand side of FIG. 1 and in the direction of the arrows along the line 3-3 of FIG. 1.

FIG. 4 is a rear elevation of the machine when looking from the right hand side of FIG. 3 and in the direction of the arrows along the line 4-4 of FIG. 3.

FIG. 5 is a top plan view of the machine when looking in the direction of the arrows 5-5 in FIG. 1.

FIG. 6 is a plan view of the silverware sorting flexible partition prior to being mounted in the machine.

FIG. 7 is an enlarged plan view of one of the polarizing inclined chutes that receives silverware of a predetermined length from the silverware sorting flexible partition and acts on the item to cause it to be delivered to a second oppositely inclined chute with the handle of the item at the leading end of the item.

FIG. 8 is a side elevation of FIG. 7.

FIG. 9 is a vertical section through FIG. 4 on a larger scale and is taken along the line 9-9 of the Figure and not only shows one of the silverware polarizing chutes but shows it in an inclined position and in its proper relation to an inclined delivery chute, also shown in section, that conveys the silverware item with its handle at the leading end thereof. FIG. 9 illustrates how a silverware item is polarized if the handle of the item is at the leading end when the item enters the polarizing chute.

FIG. 10 is a longitudinal section similar to FIG. 9 and illustrates how the polarizing chute functions when the silverware item enters the chute with the handle at its trailing end. In this case the inclined polarizing chute will drop the item into the inclined delivery chute with the handle at the leading end of the item.

FIG. 11 is a longitudinal section taken along the line 1111 of FIG. 4, and on a larger scale and illustrates the polarizing knife receiving inclined chute with a knife in the chute shown by dot-dash lines, the handle being at the leading end of the knife. The same Figure further shows how the polarizing chute has a longitudinal slot for permitting the knife handle to swing through the slot by gravity, the knife blade being too wide to pass through the slot. An oppositely inclined delivery chute receives the knife when the latter slides out of the exit end of the slot and the knife will slide down the delivery chute handle first.

FIG. 12 is a view similar to FIG. 11 and illustrates a knife in the polarizing chute by dot-dash lines, the knife handle being at the trailing end of the knife. The knife handle is heavier than the knife blade and it will prevent the blade from dropping through the longitudinal slot in the polarizing chute. A block is mounted at the upper end of the delivery chute and will be engaged by the end of the knife blade before the end of the knife handle registers with the slot. The block will act as a fulcrum point for the end of the knife blade and will cause the knife to swing into the delivery chute with the handle being disposed at the leading end of the knife.

FIG. 13 is an enlarged longitudinal section through the silverware separating and spacing belt and is taken along the line 13-13 of FIG. 3.

FIG. 14 is an enlarged section of a portion of the silverware separating and spacing belt and is taken along the line 14-14 of FIG. 2. It is on the same scale as FIG. 13 and shows a swingable arm that cooperates with the belt for removing silverware items that are not entirely received in the spaces between adjacent vanes on the belt.

FIG. 15 is a top plan view of the swingable arm and is taken along the line 15-15 of FIG. 14.

FIG. 16 shows the left hand portion of the silverware separating and spacing belt shown in FIG. 13 and illustrates how a misaligned silverware item riding on the belt is transferred to a discard receptacle.

FIG. 17 is a view similar to FIG. 16 and illustrates how a misplaced silverware item when becoming wedged between the silverware separating and spacing belt and the silverware sorting flexible partition will move the discard receptacle and open a switch which will stop further operation of the machine until the item is removed and the discard receptacle returned to its proper position.

FIG. 18 is an enlarged longitudinal section through another belt that is used for the initial sorting and spacing of the silverware items just prior to their being delivered to the second belt where they are sorted according to their lengths by the silverware sorting flexible partition. FIG. 18 is taken along the line 18-18 of FIG. 3.

FIG. 19 is a schematic showing of the path the silver ware takes from the entrance, through the sorting and polarizing means and finally into the receptacles that receive the sorted and polarized silverware items.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT In carrying out our invention we provide a frame, indicated generally at A in FIGS. 1 to 5 inclusive. A downwardly inclined entrance chute B for silverware is shown in the front elevation, FIG. 1, and in the top plan view of FIG. 5. The inclination of this entrance chute is shown in the side elevation of FIG. 3 and FIG. 5 illustrates the chute B as communicating with a downwardly inclined extension Bl that extends at right angles to the chute B. A silverware deflector baffle 1, see FIG. 5, extends at a 45 angle to the travel of the silverware along the entrance chute B, see arrow 0, and will direct the silverware to the left as indicated by the arrow b. The inclination of the chute extension B1 is indicated in the rear view of the machine in FIG. 4 and the side elevation of FIG. 3.

The chute extension B1 delivers the silverware by gravity to a silverware separating and spacing means which comprises an endless belt C, see FIG. 18, that has outwardly extending and spaced apart vanes 2 that will form silverware receiving pockets between adjacent vanes. FIG. 3 shows how the endless belt C is inclined from the vertical so that any silverware items received between the vanes 2 will gravitate toward a partition D. The belt C is passed around drums 3 and 4, see FIG. 18, and an operating mechanism, which will be described hereinafter, causes the shaft 5 to rotate clockwise and move the left hand reach of the belt in any upward direction. The bunched silverware will remain at the end of the chute extension B1 and the vanes 2 will agitate the silverware as they move past the chute end and cause individual pieces to be received in the pockets formed between adjacent vanes.

This silverware separating and spacing means includes the first endless belt C and FIG. 18 shows how the pockets between the vanes 2 can carry the silverware items and deliver them onto an inclined transfer chute E which in turn will deliver them to an intermediate chute F. An apron 6 extends downwardly from the end of the extension chute B1 and is placed adjacent to the tips of the vanes 2 of the endless belt C for preventing any of the silverware from dropping downwardly as it is being transferred from the extension chute B1 to the belt C. The vanes 2 on the belt will remove silverware items one at a time from the bunched silverware at the end of the extension chute B1 and the pockets formed by the vanes will separate the silverware items one from another.

The top plan view of FIG. 5 illustrates the path taken by the silverware from the entrance chute B to the intermediate chute F, which includes the first endless belt C that separates and spaces apart the individual items of silverware. The intermediate chute F delivers the spaced apart items of silverware to a further spacing and sorting means that includes a second endless belt G with outwardly extending and spaced apart vanes 7, see FIGS. 2 and 13. The second endless belt G is passed around three drums 8, 9 and 10. FIG. 1 illustrates how the drum 8 for the second belt G is mounted on a shaft 11 that in turn has a gear 12 that meshes with another gear 13 that rotates the shaft 5. The operating mechanism which will be described later causes the gear 13 in FIG. 1 to rotate counterclockwise and the gear 12 to rotate clockwise.

We will now describe how the individual silverware items are delivered from the intermediate chute F to the endless belt G, see FIG. 13. The top plan view of FIG. 5 illustrates by arrows c, d and e, how the now separated items of silverware travel over the transfer chute E and the intermediate chute F by gravity until they reach the second endless belt G. The vanes 7 of this belt form pockets that receive the silverware pieces and initially lift the silverware as the belt travels over the upper drum 8 that is rotating in a counterclockwise direction when looking at FIG. 13.

We provide novel means for keeping the silverware items in the pockets formed by the vanes 7 and should any portion of the silverware item project beyond the outer edges of the vanes 7, this means will either move the piece into the pocket or knock it out of the pocket where it will drop upon the intermediate chute F ready again to be received in another pocket on the belt G and formed by adjacent vanes. Reference is made to FIGS. 2, 13, 14 and 15, where we show a cylindrical bar H that parallels the lengths of the vanes 7 and is pivotally mounted in a position that will just clear the outer edges of the vanes 7, note especially FIG. 13. The bar H pivots on a pin 14, see FIG. 15, that is carried by a bracket 15 which in turn is secured to the partition D. A stop pin 16, see FIGS. 14 and 15, is also carried by the bracket 15 and underlies the swingable bar H so as to prevent it from swinging downwardly below the normal position shown in FIG. 2.

FIG. 14 illustrates how the pivoted bar H can function to remove any piece of silverware that has a portion extending beyond the outer edge of a vane 7. A silverware item 17 is shown being carried by a vane 7 and lying adjacent to the belt G the length of the silverware paralleling the plane of the belt. Also, another piece of silverware 18 is illustrated as being improperly received in the same pocket that receives the piece 17. One end of the piece 18 extends beyond the outer edge of the vane 7 that properly supports the piece 17. Therefore, as the vane 7 carries both pieces 17 and 18 upwardly with the upward movement of the belt portion G, the overhanging portion of the silverware item 18 will strike the bar H and the weight of the bar will dislodge the piece from the pocket even though the bar might be swung upwardly about its pivot 14 during this operation. The piece 18 will be forced from its pocket and will drop upon the intermediate chute F ready to enter another belt pocket. The purpose of the swingable bar H is to prevent any piece of silverware from projecting beyond the outer edge of the vane 7.

It will be seen from FIG. 2 that the second belt G is inclined to the right from a vertical plane. The purpose of this is to cause all of the items of silverware 17 that are supported by the vanes 7 to move by gravity along the vanes until they will slidably contact with a front partition I that parallels the intermediate partition D. The drive shaft 1 l for the drum 8 and the shafts 19 and 20 for the drums 9 and 10, respectively, see FIGS. 2, 3 and 13, are supported in bearings that are mounted in the two inclined partitions D and .l.

The first endless belt C is tilted from a vertical plane at the same angle as the second endless belt G and the drive shaft 5 for the drum 4, see FIG. 18, and the shaft 21 for the drum 3 are mounted in bearings that are can ried by the intermediate inclined partition D and a rear inclined partition K, see also FIGS. 2 and 3. Inclined transverse members 22 extend between the front 23 of the main frame and the rear 24 of the same frame and support the lower ends of the inclined partitions J, D and K.

If by chance an item of silverware 18, that is not correctly positioned along the vane 7 of the second belt G, as shown in FIG. 14, is carried past the pivoted bar H and is moved past the drum 8 and starts along the downwardly inclined portion of the belt G from the drum 8 to the drum 9, the inclination of the belt from a vertical plane might cause the wayward silverware piece to slide toward the inner surface of the front inclined partition J and to parallel the plane of this surface. The enlarged view of FIG. 16 illustrates such a situation. Also, FIG. 3 shows a wayward item of silverware 25 straddling two of the vanes 7 on the second belt G and sliding along the inner surface of the front inclined partition 1.

Near the lower end of the downwardly inclined portion of the second belt G, see FIG. 16, we provide a weighted swingable arm L that is pivoted on the inner side of the front inclined partition, see also FIG. 3. The arm L normally assumes the position shown in FIG. 17 and it has an angled portion 26 that contacts the outer edges of the vanes 7 as the belt G moves them under the arm. The wayward silverware piece'25, shown in FIG. 3, will be carried so as to move under the angled portion 26 of the arm L and will swing the arm clockwise through a slight arc. The weight of the arm will cause it to press on the trailing end of the silverware piece 25 and cause the leading end of the piece to enter a discard container M rather than follow the belt portion G in an are as this portion passes around the drum 9.

In case a wayward silverware piece 27, see FIG. 17, should not slide under the weighted swingable arm L, but instead pass around the arm and be carried by the belt vanes 7 so as to pass between the outer edges of the vanes and become wedged against a flexible silverware sorting member N, as shown in this Figure, the piece 27 would press the adjacent end of the member N and force it outwardly and move the discard container M away from its normal position. An electric switch P is shown in FIG. 16 as having its push button 23 depressed when the silverware discard container is in normal position and, therefore, the electric motor Q will be connected to a current source when a master switch button 29, see FIG. 1, is actuated. A displacing of the discard container M by the wayward silverware piece 27 in the manner just described, will move the receptacle away from the push button 28 and permit the switch P to open and disconnect the electric current from the motor. The machine will therefore cease operating until the silverware item 27 is removed and the discard container M moved back into its normal position so as to again close the switch P.

FIG. 3 shows the silverware discard container M as having a hand opening 30 by means of which the container may be manually removed from the machine in order that its contents may be emptied. A side wall of the machine A, see FIG. 13, has an opening for receiving the discard container M. A magnet 31 is mounted in the machine A in a position to be contacted by an extended outer side of the container M when the container is in normal position. The magnet releasably holds the container in this position until a stray silverware piece 27, see FIG. 17, moves the container in the manner just described.

The silverware sorting flexible member N cooperates with a lower reach of the second belt G and its vanes 7 in sorting the silverware according to length, see FIG. 13. A plane view of the flexible sorting member N is shown in FIG. 6 and it has a width equal to the width of the second belt G, see FIG. 2. The two side edges of the flexible silverware sorting member N are supported by angle irons 33 and 34 that are attached to the inclined front partition .I and the inclined intermediate partition D, respectively. The end 35 of the flexible member N disposed adjacent to the silverware discard container M is supported by rods 36, see FIGS. 3 and 13, that in turn have an adjustable turnbuckle connection 37 with a supporting angle iron 38 that extends between the inclined partitions D and J. The rods 36 and turnbuckles 37 cause the adjacent end of the flexible member N to be curved and to contact with the outer edges of the vanes 7 as the second belt G has its portion passing around the drum 9, as shown in FIG. 13.

FIG. 6 shows a plan view of thesilverware sorting flexible member N and it has an elongated opening 39 that has a straight edge 40 disposed opposite to a stepped edge 41. The present machine is designed to sort six different kinds of silverware according to their variations in length, although this number can be decreased or increased without affecting the spirit of our invention. When the member N is mounted in the machine the opening 39 will be arranged above six silverware polarizing chutes R1 to R6, inclusive, see FIG. 13. The stepped edge 41 for the opening 39 in the member N has six steps designated N1 to N6, inclusive. For example, the distance between the step N1 and the opposite edge 40 for the opening 39 is substantially equal to the length of a teaspoon. The next step N2 and the opposite edge 40 will be separated by a distance equal to the length of a soup spoon. In other words the steps N1, etc., are precut to handle the various lengths of silverware that the machine is designed to sort.

The inclination of the second belt G, see FIG. 2, will cause the silverware items to slide along their supporting vanes 7 until they contact with the partition J, as shown by the item 17 in this Figure. The plane of the inner surface of the inclined partition J will cause the ends of the silverware 17 to substantially register with the edge 40 in the opening 39 of the silverware sorting member N, see FIG. 6, there being just enough area between the edge 40 of the opening 39 and the side wall .I, which will support the adjacent end of the silverware item that is being moved by the vanes 7 of the endless belt G. The vanes 7 on the lower reach of the second belt G will contact with the upper surface of the member N and will move the silverware from left to right in both FIGS. 6 and 13 and will keep the lengths of the silverware at right angles to the edge 40. Therefore, the smallest length of silverware which is usually the teaspoon, will drop through the opening 39 when its end registers with the step N1. This registering end will drop through the opening and the opposite end will fulcrum on the edge 40 and will finally drop through the opening 39. The next longer piece of silverware will register with the step N2 and so on up to the longest length of silverware, which is usually the knife, and this will register with the last step N6.

The silverware items will immediately drop into the proper inclined polarizing chute, R1 to R6 inclusive, that are disposed directly under the silverware sorting member N, see FIG. 13. In FIG. 2 the inclined polarizing chute R6 is illustrated as having its entrance end positioned directly under the silverware sorting member N. This chute may be supported in any manner desired and the angle of inclination can be altered by any means, none being shown. All of the polarizing chutes R1 to R6 are similar in construction except that their dimensions vary according to the particular type of silverware item they are designed to handle.

In FIGS. 7 and 8, we show a plan and side elevation of one of the polarizing chutes. The polarizing chute R1 in these Figures is trough-shaped and it is provided with a longitudinal slot 42 that extends inwardly a predetermined distance from the discharge end 43 of the chute. The effective length of the slot 42 can be varied by an adjustable slide 44 that is also trough-shaped in cross section and is designed to be placed under the chute R1 adjacent to the discharge end 43 of the chute. The slide 44 is secured to the chute R1 in adjusted position by any means desired, such as by bolts 45 carried by the chute and adjustably received in slots 46 formed in the slide. The slide 44 has a longitudinally extending slot 47 that is of a predetermined length and width and the center line of the slot registers with the center line of the slot 42 in the chute R1.

FIGS. 9 and 10 illustrate how the polarizing chute R1 handles teaspoons so as to deliver them to a delivery chute S1 in such a manner that the spoon handle will lead the way. In FIG. 9, the spoon 48 has dropped through the opening 39 in the silverware sorting member N and has been received in the inclined polarizing chute R1 with the handle of the spoon in the lead position. The slotted slide 44 has been adjusted with respect to the chute R1 so that the spoon handle not only can swing downwardly through the chute slot 42, but the slide slot 47 will also receive the handle. The slot 47 is too narrow to permit the spoon bowl to drop therethrough and, therefore, the spoon will slide along the side edges of the slot 47 until the end of the slot is reached. By this time the spoon handle will strike the delivery chute S1 with the result that the spoon will be reversed in its position when it is received in the delivery chute SI. Therefore, the teaspoon will slide downwardly by gravity in the delivery chute with the spoon handle leading the way. The side elevation of the machine, shown in FIG. 3, and the front elevation, shown in FIG. 1, illustrate how the teaspoon is delivered handle first into the teaspoon receiving receptacle T1.

If new the teaspoon 48 should be delivered into the polarizing chute R1 with the spoon handle trailing, as shown in FIG. 10, the spoon would slide downwardly along the chute and the bowl portion of the spoon would be too wide to drop through the slots 42 and 47 provided at the exit ends of the chute R1 and the delivery chute S1, respectively. Therefore, when the bowl end of the teaspoon clears the slots 42 and 47, the spoon handle will register with the slots and the entire spoon will drop directly onto the delivery chute Sll without the spoon being turned end for end. The result is that the teaspoon will travel down the delivery chute S1 with the handle leading in just the same way as in FIG. 9. All of the teaspoons delivered to the teaspoon receiving receptacle T1, see FIG. 1, will arrive handle first. Again referring to FIG. 7, the slot 47 in the adjustable slide 44 can have a width equal to the width of the handle of the particular silverware item being received by the polarizing chute. The slide 44 can be adjusted longitudinally on the polarizing chute so that its slot 47 can take care of the length of the handle.

All of the silverware items handled by the machine function in the same manner as that explained for the teaspoon with the exception of the knives. The varying widths of the slot 39 in the silverware sorting flexible member N, see FIG. 6, will determine what kinds of items will be delivered to the various polarizing chutes. The shortest width of the opening 39 is at the N1 step and only teaspoons will drop through this sized opening. The next step N2 is for soup spoons that have longer handles than teaspoons. Nextstep N3 is for salad forks and the next step N4 is for dinner forks. The long handle spoons, such as for stirring drinks, comes next at step N5. These different steps are given by way of example and the varying widths of the opening 39 in the member N are precut according to the particular type of silverware being handled.

The polarizing of the knives is accomplished in a slightly different manner than the rest of the silverware, see FIGS. 11 and 12. The length of the knife 49 is greater than any of the other pieces of silverware and, therefore, the knife is the last to drop through the opening 39 in the silverware sorting member N and this will be at the step N6, see FIG. 6. The vanes 7 and the lower reach of the second belt G will move the silverware along the member N, starting from the left hand end of the member. The vanes will keep each silverware item at right angles to the edge 40 of the opening 39 and the inclination of the second belt G will cause the ends of the silverware that are disposed at the lower portion of the belt to register with the edge 40 of the opening 39. This will cause the ever increasing widths of the opening 39 provided by the steps N1 to N6, inclusive, to permit the shortest length items to drop through the opening area bounded by the step N1. Then the next larger pieces will be dropped through the ever increasing width of the opening 39 and this will be determined by the steps N1 to N6, inclusive.

Returning to FIG. 11, we find that a knife'49 has been dropped onto the downwardly inclined polarizing chute R6 with the knife handle leading the way. The knife handle is heavier than the knife blade and when the handle reaches the registering slots 42 and 47 in the chute R6 and the slide 44 respectively,- the handle will drop through while the knife blade will be too wide and the knife will fulcrum on the blade where it joins the handle as is clearly shown in FIG. 11. The knife will continue to slide down the chute R6 in this upright position until the lower end of the handle strikes the delivery chute S6, whereupon the knife will start to tilt to W the left from the vertical in FIG. 11, until the knife blade is freed at the ends of the slots 42 and 47. At this point the knife will drop into the downwardly inclined delivery chute S6 with its handle in the lead position and it will keep the position as it enters the knife receiving receptacle T6 in FIGS. 1 and 4.

Now, in referring to FIG. 12, the knife 49 has been dropped into the polarizing chute R6 with the knife blade leading the knife handle. The knife will slide downwardly along the chute and since the knife handle is heavier than the knife blade, it will prevent the blade from dropping through the registering slots 42 and 47 in the chute R6 and the slide 44, respectively. The member 44 has been adjusted lengthwise on the chute R6 until its slot 47 will not permit the knife handle to drop therethrough until the knife blade rests on a block 50 and the tip of the blade will strike the frame A, at which time the heavier knife handle can drop through the registering slots 42 and 47 and enter the delivery chute S6. At this time the knife will start sliding down the chute S6, handle first, and will so enter the receptacle T6.

It is best now to describe the operating mechanism. In FIG. 1, we show the starting button 29 for the motor 0. A depressing of the button starts the motor and operates a gear reduction mechanism 51 for rotating a sprocket and causing a sprocket chain 52 to rotate another sprocket on the shaft 5 in a counterclockwise direction when looking at the front view of FIG. 1. This will rotate the drum 4 for the first endless belt C in a clockwise direction when looking at the rear view of the machine in FIG. 4. The shaft 5 as well as its companion shaft 21 are inclined from a horizontal plane. Again referring to FIG. 1, we have shown the gear 13 meshing with the gear 12 which is mounted on the shaft 11 and will rotate it and the drum 8 in a clockwise direction to operate the second endless belt G. Both of the endless belts C and G are provided with belttightening means, not shown, for taking up any slack in the belts.

OPERATION From the foregoing description of the various parts of the device, the operation thereof may be readily understood. In FIG. 19, we show a schematic showing of the passage the silverware will take from the entrance chute B to the final silverware receiving receptacle T. Only one receptacle T is illustrated in FIG. 19, although as already stated there will be a separate receptacle for each kind of silverware. Also, only one polarizing chute R is illustrated and one delivery chute S, although there will be a separate pair of polarizing and delivery chutes for each type of silverware handle by the machine.

An arrowed line 52 in FIG. 19 indicates the line of travel of the silverware through the silverware sorting machine. The entrance chute B receives the silverware and delivers it to the first endless belt C that separates and spaces apart the individual pieces of silverware. From here the silverware is delivered piece by piece to a transfer chute E and then to an intermediate chute F. Then the silverware is delivered to the second separating and spacing belt G that cooperates with the silverware sorting member N for delivering similar pieces of silverware to the same pair of polarizing and delivery chutes R and S, respectively, whereby all of the silverware will be correctly sorted as to kind and will be polarized so that the silverware receiving trays T will each receive their particular type of silverware and the handles of the pieces in the trays will all be pointing in the same direction. It is possible to remove the silverware sorting member N for repair or for changing the stepped sorting opening 39 to adapt the machine to handle silverware having pieces of other predetermined lengths.

The schematic showing of FIG. 19 does not illustrate the different mechanisms for handling silverware items that have gotten out of line and had to be ejected from the normal path being taken by the silverware through the machine.

We claim:

1. In a silverware sorting machine:

a. an endless belt having an upwardly inclined pornon;

b. laterally and outwardly extending and spaced apart vanes carried by said belt and forming silverware receiving pockets;

c. means for feeding silverware items into the pockets of the upwardly rising portion of said belt;

d. means for continuously moving said belt; and

e. a swingable bar normally positioned to extend parallel to the lengths of said vanes and lying close to the path taken by the outer edges of said vanes as they move along the upwardly inclined portion of said belt, said bar being free to swing in an upward direction;

f. whereby any silverware item being carried upwardly by said belt and having any portion projecting beyond the outer edge of the vane on which it is supported, will be contacted by said bar and dislodged from the pocket and returned to said silverware feeding means.

2. The combination as set forth in claim 1: and in which a. said endless belt has a downwardly inclined portion;

b. a silverware discard container disposed at the lower end of the downwardly inclined belt portion for receiving any silverware item that accidentally has eluded said swingable bar and has freed itself from its associate pocket, such stray item moving by gravity along the downwardly inclined portion of said belt and over the tops of said vanes and being delivered into said discard container.

3. in a silverware sorting machine:

a. an endless belt having a downwardly and laterally inclined portion;

b. laterally and outwardly extending and spaced apart vanes carried by said belt and forming silverware receiving pockets;

c. means for feeding silverware items into said pockets;

d. electrically actuated means for continuously moving said belt;

e. a silverware discard container disposed at the lower end of the downwardly inclined portion for receiving any silverware item that might free itself from one of the pockets or might not have been entirely received within a pocket;

. a side wall for the lower side of said belt against which the silverware items in the pockets will gravitate and slidably contact, the vanes extending substantially at right angles to the plane of said side wall and being spaced close enough together so that if a stray silverware item is not received in a pocket it will ride on top of the vane edges and its length will parallel the plane of the side wall;

g. a drum arranged at a lower end of the downwardly inclined portion of the belt so that the belt will travel around this drum, there being a sufficient space between the drum and said container for the vanes to clear the container; and

h. a swingable arm pivotally carried by said wall and swingable in the plane of the wall, said arm having a portion contacting the tops of the vanes and engaging any stray silverware item whose length parallels the side wall for bearing against the item to prevent it from passing between the drum and said container, but instead, directing the item into the container.

4. The combination as set forth in claim 3: and in which a. a flexible silverware sorting sheet-like member has one end extending around a portion of said drum and contacting the outer edges of the vanes that are moved by said belt as it travels around said drum, the said end of said member contacting the adjacent side of said discard container;

b. adjustable means for adjustably supporting the end of said flexible silverware sorting member that contacts said container;

0, a magnet carried by said side wall and normally contacting said container for removably holding it in a normal position where the end of said sheetlike sorting member will contact it; and

d. a push button switch normally kept closed by having its push button contacting said container when the latter is in normal position;

e. the end of said sorting member being moved against said container for moving the container for freeing it from said magnet and from the push button of said switch when a stray silverware piece accidentally gets jammed between the outer edges of the vanes and the silverware sorting member, whereby the current is cut-off to said belt moving means and the belt will stop moving.

5. In a silverware sorting and polarizing machine:

a. an endless belt having a substantially horizontal portion which is tilted laterally so there will be a slight incline across the belt width;

b. transversely extending vanes carried by said belt and being spaced from each other and extending downwardly on the horizontal portion to form silverware receiving pockets therebetween;

c. means for continuously moving said belt;

d. means for feeding silverware items into said pockets so that a single'item of silverware will be carried by each pocket and the length of the silverware will parallel the length of the vane against which it contacts;

e. a silverware sorting member inclined laterally at the same angle as said belt and contacting the lower edges of the downwardly extending vanes;

f. a wall extending adjacent to the lower side of the laterally inclined belt so that the silverware items will gravitate to the lower end of the pocket and cause the ends of the items to slide along said wall; said silverware sorting member having an opening therein with a straight edge that extends at right angles to the planes of said vanes and parallels the plane of said wall and is disposed a slight distance from it, the vanes moving the items in the pockets so that each item extends at right angles to the straight edge of the opening;

g. the opposite edge of the opening in the sorting member being progressively stepped to accommodate items of different lengths so that the shortest length item will be the first to drop through the opening as the belt moves the items over said mem ber and then the next longer item will drop through the opening and so on to the longest silverware item; and

h. separate means for receiving each series of items having the same length.

6. The combination set forth in claim and in which a. each of said separate means for receiving silverware items of the same length includes means for polarizing each item so that the handles of all of the items will point in the same direction.

7. In a device of the type described; a silverware polarizing device including;

a. a downwardly inclined polarizing chute for receiving one silverware item at a time at the upper end of the chute, the chute being trough-like in cross section and causing the item to move along the chute in the direction of its length, the lower end of the chute having a longitudinally extending slot that is open at the exit end of said chute;

b. an adjustable trough-shaped slide adjustably connected to the underside of said polarizing chute and having a longitudinally extending slot registering with the slot in the polarizing chute, the slot in said slide having a predetermined width for only receiving the handle of the item sliding down the chute, both slots being too narrow to permit the wider end of the item from dropping therethrough; whereby the item will gravitate to the end of said chute; and

. an inclined delivery chute disposed under the polarizing chute and extending in the opposite direction therefrom, the wider end of the item leaving the polarizing chute last and causing this end to beat the trailing end of the item with the handle being at the forward end when the item is received in said delivery chute.

8. The combination as set forth in claim 7: and in which a. the adjustable connection of the trough-shaped slide to the polarizing chute including longitudinally extending slots in said slide and bolts in said polarizing chute for permitting the longitudinal adjustment of the slide with respect to said chute so as to accommodate the length of the handle of the silverware item being handled by the polarizing chute.

9. A silverware sorting machine comprising:

a. a chute for receiving bunched silverware;

b. silverware spacing means for receiving silverware from said chute;

c. means for receiving the individual pieces of silverware from said silverware spacing means and for sorting and separating these pieces according to their individual lengths so that pieces of the same length will be gathered together and separated from pieces having different lengths;

d. means for polarizing the pieces of silverware of each length so that the handles of these pieces will all be pointing in the same direction;

c. said silverware spacing means including a first endless belt with spaced parallely arranged vanes forming pockets for receiving pieces of silverware from the bunched silverware delivered to said belt by said chute;

f. means for continuously moving said belt and vanes, the vanes causing the pieces of silverware received by the belt to arrange'themselves in parallel relation to the planes of the vanes and to each other;

g. said silverware spacing means further includes a second endless belt continuously moved by the first belt moving means, said second belt having spaced and parallely arranged vanes forming silverware receiving pockets, the second belt receiving individual pieces of silverware from said first belt, said second belt being inclined in a lateral direction so that all of the pieces of silverware carried by the pockets will gravitate to the same side of the belt; and

h. said means for receiving and sorting the silverware pieces according to their individual lengths including a silverware sorting member inclined at the same angle as that of the second endless belt and contacting a portion of said second endless belt for receiving silverware therefrom, said silverware sorting member having an opening therein with a straight edge that extends at right angles to the planes of the vanes on the second belt that slidably contact with said sorting member, the vanes moving the silverware items in the pockets so that each item extends at right angles to the straight edge of the opening and the inclination of the sorting member causes all of the items to gravitate toward the lower side of said member where the lower ends of the silverware items will register with the straight edge of the opening in the sorting member, the opposite edge of the opening in said sorting member being progressively stepped to accommodate silverware items of different lengths so that the shortest length item will be the first to drop through the opening as the second belt moves the items over the member and then the next longer item will drop through the opening and so on to the longest silverware item, said member delivering the items to the polarizing means; and

. said polarizing means being arranged under said sorting member so as to receive the various items that have been sorted as to length, said polarizing means delivering the items, handle first, to individual receptacles so that each receptacle will only receive items of the same kind and all of the handles of the items in said receptacles will extend in the same direction.

10. A silverware sorting machine comprising:

a. a chute for receiving bunched silverware;

b. silverware spacing means for receiving silverware from said chute;

c. means for receiving the individual pieces of silverware from said silverware spacing means and for sorting and separating these pieces according to their individual lengths so that pieces of the same length will be gathered together and separated from pieces having different lengths;

d. means for polarizing the pieces of silverware of each length so that the handles of these pieces will all be pointing in the same direction;

c. said silverware spacing means including a first endf. means for continuously moving said belt and vanes,

the vanes causing the pieces of silverware received by the belt to arrange themselves in parallel relation to the planes of the vanes and to each other;

g. said silverware spacing means includes a second endless belt continuously moved by the first belt moving means, said second belt having spaced and parallely arranged vanes forming silverware receiving pockets, the second belt receiving individual pieces of silverware from said first belt by means of a second chute that receives the silverware from said first belt and delivers it to the second belt, said second belt having an upwardly extending portion arranged adjacent to said second chute to receive silverware items therefrom, said belt moving means causing this upwardly extending portion of said second belt to continuously move in an upward direction; and

h. means for removing any silverware item from the upwardly extending portion of said second belt where the item extends beyond the confines of the vane supporting the item, said silverware removing item returning the removed item of silverware to said second chute where it will again be delivered to said second belt.

11. A silverware sorting machine comprising:

a. a chute for receiving bunched silverware;

b. silverware spacing means for receiving silverware from said chute;

c. means for receiving the individual pieces of silverware from said silverware spacing means and for sorting and separating these pieces according to their individual lengths so that pieces of the same length will be gathered together and separated from pieces having different lengths;

d. means for polarizing the pieces of silverware of each length so that the handles of these pieces will all be pointing in the same direction;

e. said silverware spacing means includes an endless belt having transversely extending, outwardly projecting and spaced apart vanes forming silverware receiving pockets, said belt having an upwardly inclined portion for receiving silverware items from the chute and having a downwardly inclined portion;

f. means for continuously moving said belt and vanes for causing the upwardly inclined belt portion to receive silverware items from the chute, the pockets formed by the vanes normally receiving the items; and

g. a silverware discard container disposed at the lower end of the downwardly inclined portion for receiving any silverware item that might free itself from one of the pockets or might not have been entirely received within a pocket.

12. The combination as set forth in claim 11: and in which a. the downwardly inclined portion of said belt is also inclined laterally so that the silverware items in the pockets will gravitate to the lower side of the belt;

b. a side wall for the lower side of said belt against which the silverware items in the pockets will gravitate and slidably contact, the vanes extending substantially at right angles to the plane of said side wall and being spaced close enough together so that if a stray silverware item is not received in a pocket it will ride on top of the vane edges and its length will parallel the plane of the side wall;

c. a drum arranged at the lower end of the downwardly inclined portion of the belt so that the belt will travel around this drum, there being a sufficient space between the drum and said container for the vanes to clear the container; and

d. a swingable arm pivotally carried by said wall and swingable in the plane of the wall, said arm having a portion contacting the tops of the vanes and engaging any stray silverware item whose length parallels the side wall for bearing against the item to prevent it from passing between the drum and said container, but instead, directing the item into the container.

13. A silverware sorting machine comprising:

a. a first inclined entrance chute wide enough to receive bunched silverware items;

b. a first endless belt having transversely extending, spaced apart, and outwardly projecting, parallely arranged vanes, said belt having an upwardly inclined portion with its vanes moving past said chute for receiving one item of silverware at a time between each adjacent pair of vanes from the bunched silverware in the first chute;

c. a second downwardly inclined chute for receiving the separated items from the end of the upwardly inclined first belt portion;

d. a second endless belt having transversely extending, spaced apart and outwardly projecting, parallely arranged vanes for forming silverware itemreceiving pockets between adjacent pairs of vanes, said second belt having an upwardly inclined portion with its vanes moving past said second chute for causing the pockets to receive items one at a time from the second chute, one for each pocket; said second belt having a downwardly extending portion followed by a horizontal portion where its vanes extend downwardly, the second belt being inclined in a lateral direction so that all of the items in the pockets will gravitate to the same side thereof;

e. a silverware sorting member inclined at the same angle as said second belt and underlying the horizontal portion thereof so as to contact with the outer edges of the vanes for the second belt for supporting the items in the pockets; the silverware sorting member having an opening therein with a straight edge that extends at right angles to the planes of the vanes on the second belt that slidably contact with said sorting member, the vanes moving the items in the pockets so that each item extends at right angles to the straight edge of the opening and the inclination of the sorting member causing items to gravitate toward the lower side of the member where the lower ends of the items will register with the straight edge of the opening in the sorting member;

f. the opposite edge of the opening in said sorting member being progressively stepped to accommodate items of different lengths so that the shortest length item will be the first to drop through the opening as the horizontal portion of the second belt a. silverware polarizing means is provided for each of the various lengths of silverware and being arranged between said receptacles and said item sorting member and receiving the silverware dropping through the opening in said sorting member, said polarizing means delivering the items, handle first, to the individual receptacles so that each receptacle will only receive items of the same length and all of the handles of the items in said receptacles will extend in the same direction.

l III t l 

1. In a silverware sorting machine: a. an endless belt having an upwardly inclined portion; b. laterally and outwardly extending and spaced apart vanes carried by said belt and forming silverware receiving pockets; c. means for feeding silverware items into the pockets of the upwardly rising portion of said belt; d. means for continuously moving said belt; and e. a swingable bar normally positioned to extend parallel to the lengths of said vanes and lying close to the path taken by the outer edges of said vanes as they move along the upwardly inclined portion of said belt, said bar being free to swing in an upward direction; f. whereby any silverware item being carried upwardly by said belt and having any portion projecting beyond the outer edge of the vane on which it is supported, will be contacted by said bar and dislodged from the pocket and returned to said silverware feeding means.
 2. The combination as set forth in claim 1: and in which a. said endless belt has a downwardly inclined portion; b. a silverware discard container disposed at the lower end of the downwardly inclined belt portion for receiving any silverware item that accidentally has eluded said swingable bar and has freed itself from its associate pocket, such stray item moving by gravity along the downwardly inclined portion of said belt and over the tops of said vanes and being delivered into said discard container.
 3. In a silverware sorting machine: a. an endless belt having a downwardly and laterally inclined portion; b. laterally and outwardly extending and spaced apart vanes carried by said belt and forming silverware receiving pockets; c. means for feeding silverware items into said pockets; d. electrically actuated means for continuously moving said belt; e. a silverware discard container disposed at the lower end of the downwardly inclined portion for receiving any silverware item that might free itself from one of the pockets or might not have been entirely received within a pocket; f. a side wall for the lower side of said belt against which the silverware items in the pockets will gravitate and slidably contact, the vanes extending substantially at right angles to the plane of said side wall and being spaced close enough together so that if a stray silverware item is not received in a pocket it will ride on top of the vane edges and its length will parallel the plane of the side wall; g. a drum arranged at a lower end of the downwardly inclined portion of the belt so that the belt will travel around this drum, there being a sufficient space between the drum and said container for the vanes to clear the container; and h. a swingable arm pivotally carried by said wall and swingable in the plane of the wall, said arm having a portion contacting the tops of the vanes and engaging any stray silverware item whose length parallels the side wall for bearing against the item to prevent it from passing between the drum and said container, but instead, directing the item into the container.
 4. The combination as set forth in claim 3: and in which a. a flexible silverware sorting sheet-like member has one end extending around a portion of said drum and contacting the outer edges of the vanes that are moved by said belt as it travels around said drum, the said end of said member contacting the adjacent side of said discard container; b. adjustable means for adjustably supporting the end of said flexible silverware sorting member that contacts said container; c. a magnet carried by said side wall and normally contacting said container for removably holding it in a normal position where the end of said sheet-like sorting member will contact it; and d. a push button switch normally kept closed by having its push button contacting said container when the latter is in normal position; e. the end of said sorting member being moved against said container for moving the container for freeing it from said magnet and from the push button of said switch when a stray silverware piece accidentally gets jammed between the outer edges of the vanes and the silverware sorting member, whereby the current is cut-off to said belt moving means and the belt will stop moving.
 5. In a silverware sorting and polarizing machine: a. an endless belt having a substantially horizontal portion which is tilted laterally so there will be a slight incline across the belt width; b. transversely extending vanes carried by said belt and being spaced from each other and extending downwardly on the horizontal portion to form silverware receiving pockets therebetween; c. means for continuously moving said belt; d. means for feeding silverware items into said pockets so that a single item of silverware will be carried by each pocket and the length of the silverware will parallel the length of the vane against which it contacts; e. a silverware sorting member inclined laterally at the same angle as said belt and contacting the lower edges of the downwardly extending vanes; f. a wall extending adjacent to the lower side of the laterally inclined belt so that the silverware items will gravitate to the lower end of the pocket and cause the ends of the items to slide along said wall; said silverware sorting member having an opening therein with a straight edge that extends at right angles to the planes of said vanes and parallels the plane of said wall and is disposed a slight distance from it, the vanes moving the items in the pockets so that each item extends at right angles to the straight edge of the opening; g. the opposite edge of the opening in the sorting member being progressively stepped to accommodate items of different lengths so that the shortest length item will be the first to drop through the opening as the belt moves the items over said member and then the next longer item will drop through the opening and so on to the longest silverware item; and h. separate means for receiving each series of items having the same length.
 6. The combination set forth in claim 5: and in which a. each of said separate means for receiving silverware items of the same length includes means for polarizing each item so that the handles of all of the items will point in the same direction.
 7. In a device of the type described; a silverware polarizing device including; a. a downwardly inclined polarizing chute foR receiving one silverware item at a time at the upper end of the chute, the chute being trough-like in cross section and causing the item to move along the chute in the direction of its length, the lower end of the chute having a longitudinally extending slot that is open at the exit end of said chute; b. an adjustable trough-shaped slide adjustably connected to the underside of said polarizing chute and having a longitudinally extending slot registering with the slot in the polarizing chute, the slot in said slide having a predetermined width for only receiving the handle of the item sliding down the chute, both slots being too narrow to permit the wider end of the item from dropping therethrough; whereby the item will gravitate to the end of said chute; and c. an inclined delivery chute disposed under the polarizing chute and extending in the opposite direction therefrom, the wider end of the item leaving the polarizing chute last and causing this end to beat the trailing end of the item with the handle being at the forward end when the item is received in said delivery chute.
 8. The combination as set forth in claim 7: and in which a. the adjustable connection of the trough-shaped slide to the polarizing chute including longitudinally extending slots in said slide and bolts in said polarizing chute for permitting the longitudinal adjustment of the slide with respect to said chute so as to accommodate the length of the handle of the silverware item being handled by the polarizing chute.
 9. A silverware sorting machine comprising: a. a chute for receiving bunched silverware; b. silverware spacing means for receiving silverware from said chute; c. means for receiving the individual pieces of silverware from said silverware spacing means and for sorting and separating these pieces according to their individual lengths so that pieces of the same length will be gathered together and separated from pieces having different lengths; d. means for polarizing the pieces of silverware of each length so that the handles of these pieces will all be pointing in the same direction; e. said silverware spacing means including a first endless belt with spaced parallely arranged vanes forming pockets for receiving pieces of silverware from the bunched silverware delivered to said belt by said chute; f. means for continuously moving said belt and vanes, the vanes causing the pieces of silverware received by the belt to arrange themselves in parallel relation to the planes of the vanes and to each other; g. said silverware spacing means further includes a second endless belt continuously moved by the first belt moving means, said second belt having spaced and parallely arranged vanes forming silverware receiving pockets, the second belt receiving individual pieces of silverware from said first belt, said second belt being inclined in a lateral direction so that all of the pieces of silverware carried by the pockets will gravitate to the same side of the belt; and h. said means for receiving and sorting the silverware pieces according to their individual lengths including a silverware sorting member inclined at the same angle as that of the second endless belt and contacting a portion of said second endless belt for receiving silverware therefrom, said silverware sorting member having an opening therein with a straight edge that extends at right angles to the planes of the vanes on the second belt that slidably contact with said sorting member, the vanes moving the silverware items in the pockets so that each item extends at right angles to the straight edge of the opening and the inclination of the sorting member causes all of the items to gravitate toward the lower side of said member where the lower ends of the silverware items will register with the straight edge of the opening in the sorting member, the opposite edge of the opening in said sorting member being progressively stepped to accommodate silverware items of different lengths so that the shortest length item will be the first to drop through the opening as the second belt moves the items over the member and then the next longer item will drop through the opening and so on to the longest silverware item, said member delivering the items to the polarizing means; and i. said polarizing means being arranged under said sorting member so as to receive the various items that have been sorted as to length, said polarizing means delivering the items, handle first, to individual receptacles so that each receptacle will only receive items of the same kind and all of the handles of the items in said receptacles will extend in the same direction.
 10. A silverware sorting machine comprising: a. a chute for receiving bunched silverware; b. silverware spacing means for receiving silverware from said chute; c. means for receiving the individual pieces of silverware from said silverware spacing means and for sorting and separating these pieces according to their individual lengths so that pieces of the same length will be gathered together and separated from pieces having different lengths; d. means for polarizing the pieces of silverware of each length so that the handles of these pieces will all be pointing in the same direction; e. said silverware spacing means including a first endless belt with spaced parallely arranged vanes forming pockets for receiving pieces of silverware from the bunched silverware delivered to said belt by said chute; f. means for continuously moving said belt and vanes, the vanes causing the pieces of silverware received by the belt to arrange themselves in parallel relation to the planes of the vanes and to each other; g. said silverware spacing means includes a second endless belt continuously moved by the first belt moving means, said second belt having spaced and parallely arranged vanes forming silverware receiving pockets, the second belt receiving individual pieces of silverware from said first belt by means of a second chute that receives the silverware from said first belt and delivers it to the second belt, said second belt having an upwardly extending portion arranged adjacent to said second chute to receive silverware items therefrom, said belt moving means causing this upwardly extending portion of said second belt to continuously move in an upward direction; and h. means for removing any silverware item from the upwardly extending portion of said second belt where the item extends beyond the confines of the vane supporting the item, said silverware removing item returning the removed item of silverware to said second chute where it will again be delivered to said second belt.
 11. A silverware sorting machine comprising: a. a chute for receiving bunched silverware; b. silverware spacing means for receiving silverware from said chute; c. means for receiving the individual pieces of silverware from said silverware spacing means and for sorting and separating these pieces according to their individual lengths so that pieces of the same length will be gathered together and separated from pieces having different lengths; d. means for polarizing the pieces of silverware of each length so that the handles of these pieces will all be pointing in the same direction; e. said silverware spacing means includes an endless belt having transversely extending, outwardly projecting and spaced apart vanes forming silverware receiving pockets, said belt having an upwardly inclined portion for receiving silverware items from the chute and having a downwardly inclined portion; f. means for continuously moving said belt and vanes for causing the upwardly inclined belt portion to receive silverware items from the chute, the pockets formed by the vanes normally receiving the items; and g. a silverware discard container disposed at the lower end of the downwardly inclined portion for receiving any silverware item that might free itself from one of the pockets or miGht not have been entirely received within a pocket.
 12. The combination as set forth in claim 11: and in which a. the downwardly inclined portion of said belt is also inclined laterally so that the silverware items in the pockets will gravitate to the lower side of the belt; b. a side wall for the lower side of said belt against which the silverware items in the pockets will gravitate and slidably contact, the vanes extending substantially at right angles to the plane of said side wall and being spaced close enough together so that if a stray silverware item is not received in a pocket it will ride on top of the vane edges and its length will parallel the plane of the side wall; c. a drum arranged at the lower end of the downwardly inclined portion of the belt so that the belt will travel around this drum, there being a sufficient space between the drum and said container for the vanes to clear the container; and d. a swingable arm pivotally carried by said wall and swingable in the plane of the wall, said arm having a portion contacting the tops of the vanes and engaging any stray silverware item whose length parallels the side wall for bearing against the item to prevent it from passing between the drum and said container, but instead, directing the item into the container.
 13. A silverware sorting machine comprising: a. a first inclined entrance chute wide enough to receive bunched silverware items; b. a first endless belt having transversely extending, spaced apart, and outwardly projecting, parallely arranged vanes, said belt having an upwardly inclined portion with its vanes moving past said chute for receiving one item of silverware at a time between each adjacent pair of vanes from the bunched silverware in the first chute; c. a second downwardly inclined chute for receiving the separated items from the end of the upwardly inclined first belt portion; d. a second endless belt having transversely extending, spaced apart and outwardly projecting, parallely arranged vanes for forming silverware item-receiving pockets between adjacent pairs of vanes, said second belt having an upwardly inclined portion with its vanes moving past said second chute for causing the pockets to receive items one at a time from the second chute, one for each pocket; said second belt having a downwardly extending portion followed by a horizontal portion where its vanes extend downwardly, the second belt being inclined in a lateral direction so that all of the items in the pockets will gravitate to the same side thereof; e. a silverware sorting member inclined at the same angle as said second belt and underlying the horizontal portion thereof so as to contact with the outer edges of the vanes for the second belt for supporting the items in the pockets; the silverware sorting member having an opening therein with a straight edge that extends at right angles to the planes of the vanes on the second belt that slidably contact with said sorting member, the vanes moving the items in the pockets so that each item extends at right angles to the straight edge of the opening and the inclination of the sorting member causing items to gravitate toward the lower side of the member where the lower ends of the items will register with the straight edge of the opening in the sorting member; f. the opposite edge of the opening in said sorting member being progressively stepped to accommodate items of different lengths so that the shortest length item will be the first to drop through the opening as the horizontal portion of the second belt moves the items over the member and then the next longer item will drop through the opening at a place spaced from where the first item dropped, and so on to the longest silverware item; g. a plurality of silverware receiving receptacles arranged under the sorting member in side by side relation so that each receptacle will receive items of only the same length; and h. means for continuously moving said first and secOnd endless belts.
 14. The combination as set forth in claim 13; and in which a. silverware polarizing means is provided for each of the various lengths of silverware and being arranged between said receptacles and said item sorting member and receiving the silverware dropping through the opening in said sorting member, said polarizing means delivering the items, handle first, to the individual receptacles so that each receptacle will only receive items of the same length and all of the handles of the items in said receptacles will extend in the same direction. 